Swindon & Wiltshire News
Broadband provider Truespeed secures additional £100 million for fibre rollout
Bath-based broadband provider Truespeed has secured a second tranche of funding from Aviva Investors, the global asset management business of Aviva PLC, to accelerate its delivery of full fibre broadband.
Truespeed has increased its investment from Aviva Investors to £175 million.
The additional £100 million investment will help Truespeed accelerate the roll-out of its ultrafast, gigabit-capable full fibre network to more homes and businesses across urban, semi-rural and ultra-rural areas of South West England.
It follows an initial £75 million investment made by Aviva Investors in 2017.
A full fibre infrastructure provider and ISP, Truespeed’s mission is to provide ultrafast, ultra-reliable broadband to the South West of England, helping to level up the digital capabilities of the region and acting as a catalyst for local businesses and communities struggling with substandard broadband.
Following its initial £75 million investment, Truespeed has gone from strength to strength in the roll out of its gigabit-capable network.
In the past year, Truespeed has doubled the size of its network to bring gigabit-capable, fibre-optic connectivity to under-served Somerset rural and city communities.
As well as expanding its footprint in hard-to-reach rural areas, the firm has extended its build to the heritage cities of Bath and Wells.
And in December 2021 the firm announced the start of its network build in Glastonbury, Shepton Mallet and Street.
High profile local businesses including Yeo Valley and Thatchers Cider now rely on Truespeed for full fibre services.
The firm’s core ethos extends to providing free broadband for life to local schools and community hubs passed by its network.
Sean McLachlan, senior director, infrastructure, at Aviva Investors said: “Since our initial investment in 2017, Truespeed has continued to successfully deliver essential gigabit-capable broadband infrastructure to under-served locations across the South West of the UK.
“This second tranche of funding reflects our belief that the company and its activities not only represent a sound investment, but also creates significant social benefits for local communities across the country.
“We look forward to continuing to support Truespeed and furthering the roll out of its network build and award winning service.”
James Lowther, Truespeed CEO, said: “We are delighted that our continuing relationship with Aviva Investors has provided this next tranche of investment.
“This will allow us to significantly accelerate our roll-out, enabling us to connect more customers to our ultrafast, ultra-reliable full fibre service.”
